Plans continue to move forward for a new high-rise development at the former Sushi Maru restaurant property in downtown Bellevue.
Recent filings with the City of Bellevue show that the developer behind the proposed 205 Tower project has applied for a design variance related to the building’s ground-floor commercial space. The request would allow retail areas along the street to be shallower than typically required under Bellevue’s development code, a change developers often seek to improve building layout efficiency, better match smaller retail or café spaces, and accommodate structural or parking design constraints. The request is currently under review by the city as part of the Design Review process.
The redevelopment site, located at 205 105th Avenue NE, is proposed to become a 24-story mixed-use residential tower. The project would include 141 apartment units, approximately 5,000 square feet of street-level retail space, and 120 parking stalls on the 0.41-acre property.
Plans call for five levels of above-ground parking and a partial basement. Of the 141 apartments, 29 units would be designated as affordable housing for households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). Three retail spaces are planned on the ground floor to support an active, walkable streetscape in downtown Bellevue.
The site sits at the corner of 105th Avenue NE and NE 2nd Street, where Sushi Maru previously operated. The restaurant closed several years ago, and the property is currently being used as surface parking.
Bellevue-based Su Development is leading the project, with architecture firm MZA serving as the design architect.
According to King County property records, the site was purchased in the summer of 2021 by a Bellevue-based investor affiliated with Royal 205 LLC for $14.6 million.
Before the current proposal, the property was owned by Bosa Development, which acquired the site in 2018 for $11 million and had proposed a 21-story residential tower called Zeyda. That earlier plan included 77 housing units — five of them affordable — along with retail and lobby space.
